


An Unexpected Trip

by lunaofthemiste



Category: Battle for London in the Air (Roleplay)
Genre: Accidental Drug Use, Gen, Immortal Illuminati AU, Rebecca's stress level is too high, other characters make cameos, started as a fun fic now it's angst, the Luna Trajectory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaofthemiste/pseuds/lunaofthemiste
Summary: Rebecca and Oscar's lunch plans get derailed.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	An Unexpected Trip

For a group that was supposed to be extremely powerful and secret, they had a very dull office. Of course, it was really the only office Rebecca had been in, but it still made it dull nevertheless. She wondered if the American office was more vibrant, or it was the intention of the IIA to keep a low profile.

It was the beginning of the summer of 1968, and Rebecca’s current job had come to a close. The job hadn’t been super exciting or life-risking, but it was important nevertheless. Being an agent in good standing allowed her more sway over her next assignment, which was to be decided at the office today. Starting a new assignment was always thrilling, but she got to see Oscar today as well.

Oscar was one of the ‘older’ agents and had been by her side since the beginning, even if he resented his placement as a bodyguard at the time. Over the years, he had become one of her dearest friends at the agency. He was briefly working at the office this week, finishing up some paperwork and testing while he took a ‘vacation’ in his assignment posting.

She checked her watch, noting that she had arrived too early for her meeting, which in turn allowed her to see Oscar before the meeting. Smiling, she headed over to the stairs and walked up to the third floor.

The third floor was largely a mix of cubicles and administrative offices, with some supply closets and meeting rooms sprinkled in. The cubicles could be reserved for temporary office work when field agents needed another place to work. Rebecca looked around quickly, picking out Oscar’s dark, curly hair and making a beeline to him.

He noticed her as she walked up, and smiled at her. “I thought you had a meeting?”

Rebecca grinned. “I do, but I thought I’d see you first. It’s been too long.”

“It has, ‘Miss Tyler’.” Oscar agreed, grabbing his cup and standing up. “How long has it been since you’ve heard that?”

“You haven’t called me that in years, I thought we were past formalities.” Rebecca raised an eyebrow, nodding in the direction of his desk. “How was your paperwork?”

“It’s paperwork.” Oscar shrugged. “I did get re-certified again.”

“Ooh, let me guess, another perfect score?” Rebecca grinned, following Oscar as he walked to the water cooler. “This is why they want you to switch specialties.”

“You know me too well.” He admitted, filling up his cup again. “And yes, they asked again, and I refused. I didn’t join the Illuminati to become an assassin.” 

“I know,” Rebecca said simply. “You don’t drink tea in the mornings anymore? Usually by now you would have had two cups.” She remarked. 

“It’s been easier for me to wake up with water in my old age,” Oscar joked, taking a sip. “I can always have tea at lunch.” He checked his watch. “When’s your meeting?”

Rebecca looked down, checking her watch as well. “In a few minutes, actually. The meeting shouldn’t be long, it’s a standard reassignment, and then we can get lunch.”

Oscar nodded. “I’ll be here when you’re done, drowning in paperwork.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow, walking back towards the stairs. “I wouldn’t complain if I were you, they could transfer you to HR.” She remarked, turning around and heading to the stairs.

* * *

An hour later, Rebecca was once again headed up the stairs to the third floor. The reassignment meeting had gone smoothly, even though she was asked again to transfer to the home office. While she certainly did not have the physical skills most field agents had and was barely adept with a gun, she made up for it with her smarts.

Well, she thought she did at the very least. Regardless, she was able to remain in the field for now, though she would consider transferring to administration in a hundred years or so.

As she approached Oscar’s desk, she found him hunched over, looking down. She briefly wondered if he was sleeping, and carefully patted him on the shoulder to try and wake him. “Oscar?” She asked quietly.

Oscar jolted up, grabbing her arm harshly, only slowing down when he recognized her. “I think something’s wrong.” He said quietly, almost wincing.

Rebecca frowned, leaning down and looking around the area. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, it’s just...I think I’m being watched and I could figure it out if my bloody headache went away.” Oscar winced, reaching over and starting to take another sip of his water.

Instinctively, Rebecca reached out and stopped him from drinking the water. “When did this start?” She asked. “You seemed fine when I left you.”

Oscar frowned. “Um... a while ago? Time is moving kind of slow, and I think the wall and the floor switched places.”

Rebecca stood up, looking around the office. There seemed to be a few others in their cubicles acting strangely as well, some even staring at the ceiling with wonder. Rebecca had read enough about toxicology to know that something was off, and it probably wasn’t the best idea to leave Oscar in the office. She looked down at him again, her frown deepening. He almost looked scared, and Rebecca knew she had to do something.

“Oscar, I think you may have been drugged.” She spoke softly, leaning down so she was eye level. “Can you wait here for a minute while I seek proper accommodations?” She asked.

Oscar bit his lip, his brow furrowing. “Can’t stay here, they’re all watching.” He muttered.

“Okay, um…” Rebecca closed her eyes, trying to think of a better plan. She couldn’t leave Oscar in the cubicle, but she didn’t want to drag him down to HR while she got the key for one of the flats. While she was thinking, Oscar booped her nose, and she promptly opened her eyes. “Was I taking too long?” She asked, deadpan.

“Had to make sure you were still there.” 

Rebecca exhaled, holding out her hand to Oscar, “Alright, follow me.” She said, assuming that she’d figure out a plan along the way. 

Oscar grabbed her hand and stood up, allowing her to lead him. “Be careful of the lava.” He said, frowning. “Is it hot in here?”

“Okay,” Rebecca said again, noticing a storage room that would work as a temporary hiding spot for Oscar. She opened the door and led him in, closing it behind her. “No one is watching you in here, okay?” She said slowly, hoping he would understand. “I’m going to be back as fast as I possibly can, I need you to stay here while I’m gone.”

Oscar nodded, looking around. “This looks like the room Thad and I were in.” He murmured as he sat down.

Rebecca’s brain filled with a thousand questions, all of which she could not, and would not ask,  especially while her friend was under the influence of something. “Stay here,” she repeated, leaving and closing the door behind her.

She was grateful that she wore flats today.

Rebecca was never super athletic, but she could run if she needed to. At this point, she did not care if she looked ridiculous as she ran down the stairs to the first floor, all the way to Human Resources. She stopped right outside the door to catch her breath before knocking and entering.

Dr. Suttler was at his desk, looking through some papers. As Rebecca entered, an adorable corgi approached, which she bent down and pet. She wasn’t entirely sure of the corgi’s name, since it had been a while since she had last seen Irving, and thought it rude to ask. “Oh, hello!” She greeted both of them.

“Rebecca, how nice of you to stop by,” Irving greeted, looking up. “How was your meeting?” He asked.

“Very good, I received my next assignment and I’ll get the paperwork to you by Monday,” Rebecca assured him. “And before you ask, it’s not in the office. I will try to stop by more often.”

“I can’t blame you for not wanting to be in the office.” Irving shrugged. “Was there something you needed? I did see you run from the stairwell, the office has a window in the door.”

Rebecca winced. “I need an on-campus flat for tonight.”

“Oh.”

“Before you get ahead of yourself, it is not for...copulation.” Rebecca continued. “I think Oscar and possibly others were drugged and I wanted to get him out of the office in case things get bad.”

Irving frowned, grabbing a key from his desk drawer. “How could he have been drugged?”

“I think there might have been something in the water?” Rebecca guessed. “I’m not a scientist, but Oscar was drinking a lot of it, and several others seemed...dazed.”

Irving sighed. “What floor?”

“Third floor.” 

“That’s the second complaint I’ve heard today about it.” Irving pulled out a form from his desk and handed Rebecca the key. “I’ll be sure to follow up, but if you think it might have something to do with the water, could you bring it to the science division? They would be able to test it.” He explained.

“Thank you, I will.” Rebecca nodded, tucking the key under the belt of her skirt. “I’ll try to stop by soon, but I really must get going.” She added, waving goodbye to Irving before heading back upstairs.

Rebecca hated giving Irving more issues to worry about, but she was more concerned with Oscar’s situation. She wasn’t a doctor and had no idea what exactly Oscar had ingested or how much. As she ran back up to the third floor, she formulated a quick plan. First, she would grab the cup of water off of Oscar’s desk. Then, she would retrieve Oscar from the storage room, and drop off the cup to the science division to be tested. She wasn’t sure how they would test it but figured the sample she brought could work.

Quickly, she grabbed the cup and headed for the storage room, opening the door slowly so she wouldn’t startle Oscar and quietly closing it behind her. He looked up at her from his position on the floor and blinked a few times. “You’re floating.” He remarked.

Rebecca didn’t have a response for that. “Will you come with me?” She asked.

“Why? It’s fine here.” Oscar shrugged.

“No, it’s not.” Rebecca did her best to not appear annoyed at Oscar. “I’ve secured better accommodations, away from prying eyes.”

“Well, if you say so.” Oscar stood up carefully, patting Rebecca on the head once he was at his full height. “You have good judgment, and you’re looking out for the watchers.”

Rebecca nodded. “Just follow me, I’ll keep you safe from...whatever you see.” She added as she opened the door to the office, taking Oscar’s hand to lead him. The science division was on the way to the stairs, so it would be easy to drop off the cup before leaving. 

As they approached, she noticed Dr. Jhandir leaving the science division room. He glanced at Rebecca and Oscar, noticing the held hands and the key to the on-premise flat tucked under her belt. “A bit early in the day for that, hm?” He commented. “What would Curtis think?”

Before Rebecca could think of a proper response, Oscar grabbed the cup from Rebecca’s hand and splashed the water in Dr. Jhandir’s face. 

It was if time stood still for a moment since Rebecca could barely process what had just happened. The only thought that she had was that it would be best to leave before Dr. Jhandir could retaliate, so she pulled Oscar to the stairwell.

They started to walk down the stairs, and Rebecca broke the silence. “Why on Earth would you do that?” She asked.

Oscar frowned. “He was on fire, I wasn’t going to let him burn to death.” He said plainly.

“He wasn’t on fire.” 

“Well, hopefully the water was refreshing.” Oscar shrugged. “Too late now to change it. Besides, it was an hour ago.”

“No-no it wasn’t.” Rebecca corrected. “It just happened.”

They continued their back and forth all the way to the flat and Rebecca was grateful that Oscar listened to her. She didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t - he was taller and stronger than her, and she doubted she could stop him if she had to.

Once in the flat, Oscar shivered. “Oh, it’s bloody freezing!” He said as he headed to the back room, which happened to be a bedroom, and grabbed a blanket off of the bed. 

Rebecca headed over to the kitchenette, checking the pantry for food. Thankfully, there were a few biscuit packages in there, so she wouldn’t completely starve. She grabbed one of them and went to the corded phone in the wall to tell Irving that his sample wouldn’t be in the lab. While she made the call, she pulled the cord as tight as it would go so she could keep an eye on Oscar. The call was quick, and Rebecca warned Irving that Dr. Jhandir might be upset after Oscar dumped water on him. After she finished the call, she went to check on Oscar.

He was sitting on the floor next to the bed, the blanket wrapped around him. His eyes were closed, and Rebecca noticed that he gripped the blanket tightly. “Something’s wrong, I can’t bloody think.”

“It’s the drug,” Rebecca said quietly, sitting down next to him. “I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last, but I’ll be here through it all.” She placed her hand on top of one of Oscar’s.

“I…” Oscar started to speak but stopped. “It hurts.” He said after a while, then winced. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Okay,” Rebecca said. “Do you think you’ll feel better if you sit near the toilet?” She asked. When Oscar nodded, she stood up and offered her hand to him. “I’ll help you.”

“I think I would knock you over,” Oscar shook his head, standing slowly on his own. He allowed Rebecca to help him to the bathroom and sat down carefully near the toilet. 

Rebecca sat across from him, still holding his hand in a weird handshake. “Let me know if there’s anything you need.” She said quietly.

“To be done with this.”

“I wish I could help with that,” Rebecca sighed. “But I think it’s going to take a while.”

* * *

They sat together in long periods of silence. Oscar would occasionally say something, and Rebecca would respond, but it seemed that he mostly wanted to stay quiet. Rebecca kept holding his hand, checking his pulse every so often to make sure he was okay.

At some point, she must have fallen asleep, because she awoke to Oscar tapping her on the shoulder. “Rebecca?”

She winced, her eyes not fully adjusted to the brightness of the fluorescent lights. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drift off. I hope it hasn’t been too long,” she said. “Are you feeling any better?”

“It’s hard to tell how long it’s been, but I think most of it has worn off at this point,” Oscar explained. “I’m sure there’s probably some residual left.”

Rebecca nodded. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Do you remember any of it?” She asked.

“Erm...bits and pieces. Some things are hard to distinguish if they’re real or not.” He sighed. “I kind of remember saying and doing a few things.”

“Like what?”

“I think I threw a cup of water in Jhandir’s face.” Oscar grimaced. “I feel bad, and I know that he’ll certainly want some sort of retribution”

“Well, considering…” Rebecca trailed off, not sure if Irving would want her to divulge his hunch.

“Considering what?”

“I really shouldn’t say.”

“How bad is it?” Oscar frowned.

“Well, it’s not entirely bad, but...it might not be true, it’s just a hunch.” Rebecca winced.

“I’ll probably find out eventually.”

Rebecca sighed. “Irving thinks that Dr. Jhandir laced the water in the water cooler.” She admitted.

Oscar looked annoyed. “I no longer feel bad about throwing water in his face. How has this bloke not been fired?”

“I’m pretty sure sending him to administration was the best they could do.” Rebecca shrugged, hesitating. “Just so you know...you mentioned something that I don’t think you would have said if you hadn’t been drugged.” She said cautiously. “We don’t have to...talk about it or anything, but I thought you should know.”

Oscar frowned, taking in a deep breath. “I...do remember that. It’s what I said in the storage room, right?” Rebecca nodded, and Oscar continued. “It happened years ago. I was looking for the answer to a question that never got answered.”

“What question?” Rebecca asked, then shook her head. “I shouldn’t press, I’m sorry I even brought it up.”

“No, no, it’s fine, I...maybe it’ll do some good to talk about it instead of bottling it up.” Oscar swallowed. “I sought out Beck after a long period of being frustrated enough to see if I had a ‘preference’ or to confirm what I was thinking. But it didn’t bloody do anything and I left feeling more confused than ever. I...I worked closely with Tristan shortly after he joined, and we became very close. I started having these thoughts and feelings that I didn’t have earlier for him and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I threw myself into assignments and work. It probably wasn’t the best plan but I was sure he didn’t feel the same way. I didn’t feel the same about anyone else until I met you.”

Rebecca’s heart stopped.

Oscar continued. “You were so incredibly smart and wonderful - so different from what I had expected when I took the assignment. Those traits that I admired in you were some of the same ones in Tristan. I didn’t see it until later, but that’s why you work well together. But back then, I was so incredibly frustrated with myself that I needed answers, so I...I tried to find them myself.”

“With Beck?”

“It was only one time, in case you were wondering. In a supply room of all places. I don’t think I regret it, but it probably wasn’t a good decision, knowing how Beck was.” Oscar sighed. “I threatened to kill him if he told anyone - he must have believed me, because he never did.”

Rebecca swallowed. “Oscar...do you still have these feelings for me?”

“It’s complicated, I think.” Oscar bit his lip. “I don’t care about you any less if that’s what you mean, but the romantic feelings I had have...faded, to put it bluntly.”

“Oscar, when I met you I would have followed you to the end of the Earth, and I think I still would to this day,” Rebecca admitted. “I’ll admit that I felt those feelings, but I think they’ve faded as well. Regardless, I will always be there for you, I promise.”

Oscar sighed in relief. “To be honest, it feels better to have told someone,” he admitted, “and I’m glad you were there for me today.”

“Me too,” Rebecca nodded, “and if you ever need to talk again, I’ll be there. I certainly don’t have the answers, but I’ll do my best.”

“I know.” Oscar smiled. “I’m glad to know you.”

Rebecca smiled back, stopping when her stomach growled. “I guess we never ended up getting lunch.”


End file.
